Seminary Networks and Black Consciousness in South Africa in the 1970s

ABSTRACT

The article argues that a significant number of priests and pastors trained in seminaries in the 1970s were influenced by the Black Consciousness movement. The South African Student Association (SASO) had branches in at least three seminaries for blacks, the Federal Theological Seminary at Alice, the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Umphumulo and St Peter's Seminary at Hammanskraal. Many students or former studens from these institutions were members of SASO. Some were involved in Black Community Projects (BCP) initiatives, particularly in the Eastern Cape, while a few assumed leadership positions in the Black Consciousness movement. No Christian institution played a more important role in the development of Black Consciousness than the black seminaries. For the people trained in these seminaries, the involvement in SASO, the BCP and the other components of the Black Consciousness movement had a lasting effect on their understanding of ministry or, if they left active church service, on the orientation of their professional life. While studying for the ministry, they discovered ways of integrating spiritual life, social action and political engagement that they had never imagined before.

Keywords:

• Black Consciousness
• Steve Biko
• Black Community Projects
• Federal Theological Seminary (FEDSEM)
• South African Students Organisation (SASO)
• seminaries
• St Peter's Seminary
• Hammanskraal
• theological education
• Umphumulo Theological College